Purpose of the Project Charter

The purpose of this project charter is to develop a primary plan for the proposed project by Alexandria’s Fashion. The charter explores the background of the proposed project and looks to develop project objectives, value statement, schedule, work breakdown structure and others that are essential components of a complete project management plan.

Alexandria’s Fashion, owing to huge success in retail business, decided to open online store in addition to the retail business. Similar to the success of the retail business, the online store was also instant success and for this reason, the online store grew rapidly all over the country. However, as a side effect, the business of the retail stores diminished rapidly and several stores were forced to shut down due to lack of sales. The board of the company now wants to undertake this project to revamp the models of the retail stores in order to gain back the customers as well as the strong market in the country.

The main objectives of the project are listed as follows.

To utilize technology and marketing strategies in order to attract more customers in the retail stores

To revamp the operations at the stores to make them more cost efficient and faster than before

To enhance staff productivity at the stores with the assistance new operational framework and technical updates

To become the benchmark for Australian fashion retail market

As per the requirement set for the project, the main value of the project is reflected on the projection of at least 50% increase in retail sales by the end of April 2022. Furthermore, the project requires opening of 7 new stores that will help them gain back the fashion retail market of the country that it used to have a few years back. The initial project is set to continue till 2022 but the opening of new stores will need time up to 2024 within which, it is expected that Alexandria’s Fashion is expected to gain back the majority of share in the Australian fashion retail market.

The main stakeholders of the project are identified and listed as follows.

The main success criterion for the project is achieving increasing in the sales of the company. It is expected that after the end of the first phase of the project, the sales at the retail stores of the company will increase by at least 50% by mid-2022. Thus, the project must be able to refurbish the retail stores of the company such that more customers are attracted to come to the retail stores for purchasing fashion items.

Project Background and Objectives

The main constraints of the project are listed as follows.

Budget Constraint – The project will take place for a significantly high period of time and hence, it will require very high amount of investment. Although funds are not problem for the company considering its size and annual revenue, it is to be noted that during the refurbishment of the stores, they will remain non-functional and thus revenue will be cut down for the time during the project.

Time Constraint – Considering a predetermined time period selected for the pilot project, the project might be difficult to complete within such short period of time.

Quality Constraint – Due to rushing in the project for completing within the given time, quality might be a constraint for the project.

The main scope of the project includes refurbishment of the retail stores of the company. The scope incorporates three main changes in the retail stores:

Changes in Technical Setup

Changes in Decor

Changes in Operations

The proposed project scope is reflected in the Gantt chart as shown as follows.

Figure 1: Gantt Chart of the Project

(Source: Created by Author)

The work breakdown structure for the project along with the projected durations for each work package as well as the entire project is shown in the following table.

The work breakdown structure is further represented in simplified chart view in the following diagram.

Figure 2: Work Breakdown Structure of the Project

(Source: Created by Author)

Based on the analysis of the initial plan for the project, the following recommendations can be made for the company.

Budget Control – Since the project requires considerable period of time, it is important to control the budget throughout the course of the project.

Technical Upgrade – The technical upgrades should be done such that it is easier for the customers and the retail managers to resume smooth and efficient operations.

Operational Changes – The operational changes should benefit both the customers and company.

The project charter is approved by the following stakeholders.

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